Suwa Daisuke is an ordinary, but popular, high school student. One of his classmates, Aikawa Hinako, is somewhat fearful of men and because she ran away from just his attempt to touch her hair, he states to one of his buddies, that she is the only one he wouldn't date, unaware all of the people in his classroom could hear them, including Hinako.

Daisuke's attitude changes after he unintentionally hears a shocking truth that she confesses in an abandoned church. His former annoyance turns to compassion and concern. Hinako is unaware that he knows her 'little' secret. Believing him to have no romantic interest, she becomes more relaxed and comfortable in his company. Their relationship faces a lot of obstacles, including jealous classmates.

Now that I carefully think about what they said in the end, I deduced that they did probably live happily ever after. I think that the final thoughts they have about someone more deserving are themselves in the future.

He mentions, "One day a man much more mature than I am should take care of Aikawa."

She mentions, "One day he will find a cheerful girl much more suited for him than I am."

That mature person is his future self. He is only a high school student and has a long road ahead of him.

Aikawa too is still only in her infancy, and still has the potential (as we see her grow throughout the story), to become a "cheerful girl."

The whole, "the two of us must part," is used to speak about their present "immature" selves, that they will leave behind once they mature.

So until that day comes when they grow up, and have to start thinking about things like starting a career, finding a house and eventually raising a family (and in their case finding Aikawa's child), they are going to enjoy themselves. Because, as everyone knows, you are a high school student only once, and you live only once.

I love bitter virgin! One of a few manga's that i have read that the main character or girl is not always crying over something. Man, 8 outta of 10 manga's have girls that are just so weak and emotional, damn MOST WOMEN ARE NOT THAT EMOTIONAL. But i love the main character and the fact that she is so strong and has survived a lot. But that other chick is loco, crying rape and wanting to kill someone over a boy that doesn't even like her. Over all, this is a wonderful manga with a lot of life lessons and sorrow!

This is my... completely unprofessional analysis of the main male charater:

(Possible spoiler)

Spoiler (highlight to view)

I think that Diasuke starts out just deeply concerned with Aikawa. She's been through so much pain that he can't even fathom and so he wants to protect her like a wounded bird. This sense of duty made him actually feel... like his life had purpose and that sense of purpose makes him fall for her.

I mean, he starts out saying that he'd have any girl but the bitter fake or a virgin... I think the complexity of her character baffled him, the first interesting person in their small town and a person only he can be close to and help.

All in all, I really enjoy this manga, I feel that it has really intricate character play/interaction and every end to a every chapter is a cliff hanger, it's absolutely devastating when you are oozing with anticipation of what happens next and you have to wait!

This manga is pretty moving, and it successfully deals with the topic of sexual abuse head-on without descending into melodrama or unnecessarily graphic depictions. The one quibble I have with this is that the MC's change from a playboy-type character into a sweet, considerate guy is really sudden. I would have liked to see his 'old' personality to be fleshed out a bit more.

But all in all, Bitter Virgin is a great read for those looking for a romance story that doesn't fit the usual mold.

The thing about this manga is that it was extremely close and personal to the author because she had a stillbirth and writing the manga would revive old wounds like aikawa its not her fault. This is a really good manga and emo at all. I liked it alot.

Just wonderful. Kusunoki has really outdone herself this time. Everything is top-notch. 10/10.

Add on - In response to the comment made by danielabda on the motives of the main character -

You wonder why the main character does what he does... Well theres several explainations for this. One is that its freaking human compassion! Another is that the story's whole motif is based on this this inner conflict of the character, and thats why you are reading the story in the first place. Third is because of his past, he acts because he can relate on some level. And lastly are the explainations stated by loverun.

Anyways I highly recommend this manga because it is filled with so much empathy, character development, and above all, the grim nature of abortion and the trauma that does encompass it. This manga strikes such a chord with me because it doesnt use cheap scare tactics such as 'Deep Love' or 'Elfen Lied' or even 'Gantz' to get the audience's attention. This story has death and life written all over it, but rendered tastefully.

In addition I'd like to state how this story is so much greater when you examine the author's background and the concept of the story itself. I know all you have to do is click the link to her name and see what kind of works she has done, but i think I'd like to praise her here again because most of the stories she has written prior to this have been the comedy/romance/ecchi and even horror demographs. I appreciate this manga so much more because she writes it from a motherly standpoint and literally pours so much of herself into it, and is so great i can't really give it justice by my small description here.

i love this story just because of its flexibility and its lack of confirmity to a genre. I think that anyone looking for some soul-searchin' is gonna find something of value in this story. But i guess if you're looking for action, you outta look elsewhere. From exploring the concept of motherly love, to the motivations of kindness to the horror of rape, theres reality written all over it.

Oh yeah, i guess i should justify why it doesnt use the 'scare tactics' seen in other mangas... This is mainly because all the characters are redeemable. I will choose to contrast this to elfen lied, mainly because it shares the same themes of human kindness, love, death, life morals, etc... Also because elfen lied is seen as one of the better manga's out there. One of this manga's greatest virtues is that it throughly gives us the personal thoguhts (asides/soloquies) of each of the characters, and if not directly, it does find a way. And it manages to do this all in about 23 chapters! (well thats what i've read so far) Unlike Elfen Lied which has gone about x4 the length. Thus its main greatness is seen in the amazing compactness of the entire manga. Each page is infused with purpose and carefully thought out. Finally I give praise to this manga because amazing drawing style. The author already had to compromise much in the making of this manga, but yet still manages to crank out a manga that has both shoujo and shounen elements but balances both better than any other manga ive read so far with the same elements (inuyasha, elfen lied....)

Oh and probably the most important thing, the male character in this manga is the most redeemable male character i have even read in a manga, in any genre. He's just so brilliantly tacted together, such a finite balance between his age!, and thats another thing thats brilliant about this manga, the characters freakin' act their age. Our protagonist is a regular guy with no special attributes, set in a shounen stereotype, but manages to come off as neither a pathethic womanizer (Suzuka, Love Hina, Gantz, hundreds of other shounen characters), nor one that unrealiscally has it 'all together' (GTO, Wolf and Spice). To an extent, he actually understands his own character flaws and knows perhaps more than even 'Kyon' in the SoS brigade at a subconsious level. He acts his age, completely with all the flaws and hormonal limitations that come with that , but makes the correct deicsions, whilst redeeming himself from his mistakes.

First, I must say this manga is a seinen manga and not a shounen. So, don't expect alot of action like One Piece or Naruto. This manga is about Aikawa Hinako (female main character) who's terribly hurt in the past, mentally and physically. Therefore she's afraid of men. On one day, Suwa Daisuke (male main character) was in the church and accidentally heard about Aikawa's dark secret (because he pretends to be a priest) while Aikawa confessed her secret (in the confessional they can not see each other - could Aikawa recognise Daisuke's voice?). Suwa Daisuke changes after he heard the secret and from a ladies man he turned into a quite good guy who really want to care about Aikawa and often want to avoid actions that would re-open Aikawa's wounds of the past. Also Daisuke tries to help her whenever is possible

Overall, the story/drama aspect is good and not far-fetched. What happened to Aikawa is terrible, but somehow the story didn't feel terribly sad, maybe because Aikawa's is hiding her emotions too well in the manga (that's also what Daisuke had said in the story). There are some flashbacks (volume 2) about Aikawa's past (her former home); I think her past was a really terrible experience for her, especially when her loved ones (her mom) didn't believe her. Is there still a (bright) future for Aikawa possible

As for the art and character design, they are very nice. Bitter Virgin is a very good drama manga for those who like drama, especially who can sympathize with Aikawa (her past) and Daisuke (how to help/protect Aikawa and how to become her friend).

Bitter Virgin is a manga that I have known about for a long while now. The only reason that I had never picked it up is because I read somewhere that the two don't end up together and I just wanted a story with both depth as well as a happy ending. Well, I was put back in the right direction by some different BU members as a result of one of my topics and I am incredibly grateful that they straightened things out for me.

The ending fits the story very well and it is a happy one. The two both realize that they love each other and until someone better comes along, they'll remain side by side. This might seem pretty shallow to some, but it really fits well with their character types since they both just want what is best for the other person. Daisuke wants to protect Aikawa and Aikawa wants to be protected. They give each other what they need. She grounds him while he lifts her up.

Throughout the manga, the author does a good job of showing exactly how well the two fit together. The tragedy that ended up hurting them both actually serves as a bond that will probably keep them together for many years to come. The author shows that they will make it through whatever happens to come along. However, Daisuke's two "friends" are truly punch-worthy, in my opinion. If you read it, you'll understand.

I do agree with some opinions on here, though. I wish there would have been something to explain what happened to the step-father. I think that it would have been particularly satisfying if he had been stabbed to death in the kitchen by Aikawa's mom. I also would have liked to see more about her mom, but it wouldn't have fit well with the story. After what happened with her daughter, it's natural that she would pull back because of her feelings of guilt. Even so, it would have been nice if the author fleshed it out in a couple pages after everything was finished. Kind of like a "Where are they now?" add-on. But that's just what I wanted, it wouldn't have fit well. The open ending is exactly what was needed.

Anyways, it's a great series. Don't let people scare you off from reading it like I did... It's a great one. I found it realistic. I give it a 9 since I would have liked to see things fleshed out a bit more between Aikawa and Daisuke on a level other than him trying to protect her and her wanting to move on from the past. Also, I noticed that Daisuke's friend dropped off the face of the earth after a short time. There was also no other characters involved besides the ones that were immediately relevant. I hate rabbit trails, but sometimes a little outside interference is natural. But that's just my take :)

I'm not sure how I feel about this manga. I mean, it was a bit too angsty for me. I like to empathize with the characters rather than sympathize. What I mean when I say this is that I like to really get in the characters head and feel their pain. But with Bitter Virgin, it was almost like "Poor her, this and this and this happened!" Within the first chapter. It just was introduced so fast, that it sort of repelled me. I think that this is certainly a manga that many shoujo-lovers would devour, especially if you're into angsty sort of stuff.However, it wasn't for me.